Politik
by niky0n
Summary: A member of the royal family in Ba Sing Se, Eliza, was chosen to continue the bloodline by marrying the Prince of the Fire Nation. Upon hearing this, her two friends, Yong Soo and Anjo decided that they should go help her and escape the city walls. [Human names are used, Hetalia and LOK doesn't belong to me.]
1. Chapter 1

_Nothing ever happens here in Ba Sing Se._

The young woman stared at the sky from her window, wisps of brown hair flew as the cold wind rushed towards her face.

_Nothing ever happens here.. Or maybe it's just because I haven't got the chance to go out from the upper ring yet.._

She watched the people passing by the palace with lazy eyes, boredom striking her again as she decided to take a walk outside.

_I wonder what life is like from the middle ring, or the lower ring?_

She passed by a couple of servants before she finally got to go outside, her eyes darting towards the huge wall dividing the upper ring where the nobles and the royal family stayed, from the rest of the city of Ba Sing Se. She had never gone from the other side before, only her dad, the Grand Secretary of the city, and her uncle, who was the current king. She walked with dainty steps, her long, silk green robe swayed with every step she took. Everything looked the same, it was quiet, peaceful, tranquil. Everything was in order as it was supposed to be.

She smiled as saw the man approaching her, he was holding a black notebook and a fan on the other hand. He wore a yellow robe, the outline orange, and it flowed smoothly down to his feet. "Hello, Eliza. How are you doing today?", he asked, as he pushed back his glasses with the hand he used to hold his fan.

"Oh, Anjo.. It is nice to see you again. Well, I am fine, as you can see.", she answered, bringing a smile on the man's lips the two continued to talk. "So, how was your stay in the middle ring?", she asked, curious eyes as the man's eyes darted towards a distance.

"It was good, it was nice. It was a bit noisy there though, since it is the business district of this city..", the brunette's eyes glowed as she continued to listen to his story, "..the upper ring is beautiful, but the middle ring is more lively, more festive. The people there are not that conservative as the people around here.", he spoke, fanning himself with the golden fan he held in his right hand. "I am glad that I got the chance to go there again.", he continued, and noticed the sad look in the brunette's eyes as she looked away from him. "Is there something wrong, Eliza?"

She looked at the huge wall again, sadness in her eyes as she spoke. "It.. It's just that.. I want to go outside too, I want to go and see the middle ring you've been telling me these past few years..", she clenched her knuckles before she continued, "..if only I wasn't part of the royal family.. If only I was born "normal" like you and the rest.. Rules here, rules there, I can't go here, I can't go there.. I feel like a caged animal, don't you know that?"

The man began to feel pity, and a reassuring smile crossed his face. "Eliza, don't worry. Someday, maybe, you will get the chance to go outside too.", he said, uncertain of his own words as they finally arrived at the palace gates. "Well, see you again, Eliza.", he waved a hand as he walked away, a frown on the brunette's face as she walked towards the palace.

Li Yi Ming. It was a weird name for her, really, so she'd rather hear others call her by her other name, Eliza, a name given by her grandfather Kuei who was the Earth King at that time. Her fascination of the outside world grew from the stories her grandfather used to tell her, of how "the Avatar" came to their palace and showed him that there was another world outside the city walls. He also told her of the adventures and the places the Avatar went and gone through, of how the Avatar saved the world from the war that took place in his time. It was fascinating, no, it was exciting to hear all of these stories from his late grandfather. And now he's dead. She ponders over the lost promise her grandfather made days before he died, that he would take her outside of the city walls and show her how beautiful the world really is from the outside. Sadness welled up within her as she reached the doors to her room, sighing as she thought that another boring day passed again in this lifeless part of the city of Ba Sing Se. Then, she heard her father's voice echoing in the hallways. It seems as if he was arguing with someone, and when she tried to take a peek on who it was, the voice of the King suddenly interrupted her father's. "This is for the good of our kingdom, Han. You know what is happening outside of Ba Sing Se, of what is happening in Republic City, right now."

Her father, Han, had a distressed look on his face as he glanced at the floor beneath him. "But.. She's my only daughter, my Highness. Please, I won't let you take her away from me."

Eliza gasped, and she covered her mouth with her hands. "But you know that I don't have an heir to succeed me. And since the Fire Lord's son and your daughter are both of legal age, I was thinking of arranging a marriage between the two. The Fire Lord had already agreed with the proposal, and he was even thinking of unifying the City of Ba Sing Se and the Fire Kingdom. I think it is the best choice we currently have, considering that we are the only two nations left."

She silently gasped from where she was hiding and a confused look was on her face as she tried to listen to their conversation. _Two nations? Then what happened to the Northern and Southern Water Tribe? The Air Nomads? Where did they go?_

Han looked at the King, his eyes pleading as he spoke. "I know, but I can't give her up that easily.. I can't.."

Eliza quickly ran towards her room, confusion, fear and anger welling up within her. Moonlight shone in her room as she opened the doors, a tear escaping through one of her eyes as she thought of the arranged marriage the King was planning for her. "Why..", was the only word that escaped through her mouth. She had never lived her life like she wanted to, she had always followed what her family had wanted her to do, and now, she doesn't even get to decide on who she's going to marry. A voice inside her head reminded her of what the King said..

_..we are the only two nations left._

What did he meant by that? The anger slowly dissipated as wondered on the King's words. "The only two nations left..?", she repeated to herself when suddenly, she heard someone threw a rock on her bedroom window.

"Psst. Eliza!"

The brunette slowly got up from her bed as she walked towards the windows. A man with brown hair grinned at her from the outside, and a familiar man stood beside him, his face obviously embarrassed. "Hey Eliza!", he called out, as he waved his hands in the air. The man beside him hit him on the head with his fan. "Shh! The royal guards will hear us, Yong Soo.", he scolded. A small smile was on Eliza's face as she put a green coat on, and Yong Soo still waving and smiling at her. "What are you doing here?", she asked, elbows propped on the marble railings of the balcony as she stared at the two men standing there, outside the palace.

"We heard about the marriage thing from our parents.", Yong Soo answered, a mischievous smile on his lips as he continued, "..and we're going to bust you out of here."

Eliza's eyes widened in shock as she looked at the two. "What?", she asked him, her voice a bit louder than she should have been. She repeated in a hush tone. "What?"

Yong Soo chuckled a bit as if he wasn't even surprised by what he's saying. "We're going to bust you out, out of the upper ring, out of Ba Sing Se.", he answered with a smile on his face, and she heard a sigh escape from Anjo's lips. "We've already made preparations, so come on!"

She looked back at her own room, torn between the decision to stay or to leave. _But I've always wanted to see the outside world.. The world Grandpa Kuei used to tell me._

Eliza grabbed a bag as she finally made her decision.

_I'm sorry, father, uncle. But this is my only chance to do something I want to do, the first time I get to do something for myself._

* * *

**_Notes:_**

_Eliza/Lin Yi Ming – Hungary_

_Anjo/Anjo Wang – Macau_

_Yong Soo/Im Yong Soo – South Korea_

_Han Yi Ming – Hungary's father_


	2. Chapter 2

_The little kid tried to take a peek, catching a glimpse of her grandfather furrowing his eyebrows with his paperwork. Lately, she noticed, that these past few days, her grandfather was more absorbed with work now, and did not have any time to spend with her or even the rest of the family. He had kept to himself in his office, his food being brought by servants and the only time he went outside of that room was close to never. She tried to take a peek again, her hand accidentally pushing the front door a bit, but it made a creaking sound that made her grandfather look up from his papers. A soft smile tugged on his lips as he already knew who was standing at the doorway, even though the little brunette made her best effort to make herself invisible._

_"Eliza?"_

_She bobbed her head, looking at her grandfather who was about to put down the pen he was holding on the table. "Yes, Grandpa?"_

_The old man tried to stand, his joints ached, but he managed to do so anyway. He slowly walked towards the doorway, giving the little brunette a smile before he opened the door wide open for her. "Well, wouldn't you come in?"_

_She hesitated at first, but then followed. She sat on the leather sofa, and her grandfather sat there also, a bit of distance from her. She fidgeted, hesitating if she should ask her grandfather for a bedtime story on such a wrong time. She knew that he was busy, she heard from the servants that there was an ensuing chaos outside of the walls of Ba Sing Se, but somehow, even though she knew, her inner child was complaining, ranting about why the people around here have been so busy that they didn't even have time to spend on her. Her father had a business trip to Omashu, her uncle has been settling some affairs with the Northern Water Tribe, her mother, well.. she had died a long time ago. And the only one remaining in the palace, except for the puppetlike servants that surrounded her, was her grandfather. It's been almost a week since he last told her a bedtime story. Though, the stories her grandfather used to tell her was one of a kind._

_"It's late, Eliza. Why aren't you sleeping yet?"_

_She looked at her pale hands. She remembered the last story her grandfather told her, about benders, those people who can manipulate the four basic elements: water, fire, earth and air. She also remembered how funny her grandfather looked when he tried to imitate the moves of an earthbender. And after that, when he had already told her goodnight and had already walked out of her bedroom, though she found it silly at first, she tried to imitate the moves her grandfather just showed her. She moved her hands, trying to see if the marble flooring would rise to her command, a hidden voice in her mind wanting desperately to see if she could bend, but then, she just gave up. "Why can't I do it?", she asked herself, and then she remembered one thing: she wasn't a bender. Sometimes, she would think to herself that maybe she could really bend, and her family didn't just tell her about it, maybe, just maybe, she needed someone who can teach her how to earthbend. She chuckled at the thought, she knew for herself that she was an earthbender, if ever she was a bender, since she came from Ba Sing Se, the Earth Kingdom capitol. But it was fascinating too if she could bend the other elements; water, fire, air.._

_Actually, she hasn't seen a real bender for once. There were close to none when it came to the upper ring, but she heard that in the middle and lower rings, there were different kinds of benders scattering around, but never the upper ring. She wondered to herself why, thinking that maybe it was because the only ones that are allowed to live in the upper ring are those with high ranks in the government, or maybe the Dai Li was just scared that if they allowed benders in the upper ring, they might try and infiltrate the palace or attack the King. The latter part sounds more plausible to her, of course, safety comes first when it comes to the Dai Li, but then, she thinks to herself that maybe, they are just going a little way overboard._

_Her emerald eyes were on the old man's wrinkled face as she tried to talk._

_"Grandpa.. You told me last week that you were going to tell me about the story about the Avatar..", she shifted on her seat as she continued, "..you told me you met him during the Hundred Years' War. How is he now? Why isn't he visiting you anymore?"_

_That last question. She managed to ask her grandfather why, because she was curious as to how the Avatar looked like, and how real bending looked like._

_"He..", the old man stopped halfway. Should he tell her the truth? Tell her that his friend, Avatar Aang had already passed away? He knew that the little brunette wanted to meet the Avatar so badly, but what can he do? The Avatar died young, in his thirties, the King thinking that maybe the years had already caught up on him. And soon, the search for the new Avatar will come to an end, letters of confirmation on who will be the next Avatar will be sent for every leader of every nation, letting them know in advance so they could send the best instructors for the chosen one._

_He looked at the child sitting next to him. Hopeful, emerald eyes. It was kind of heartbreaking to tell her the truth, and he tried to come up with an excuse. "He.."_

_What should he really tell her?_

_"He.. He's on another journey again. I think he has no time to visit us, considering the places he has to go through first."_

_He managed to fake a smile. The brunette frowned as she looked back at her pale, little hands._

_"But, but..", her lower lip quivered, "..even a quick stop here in Ba Sing Se, he has no time? This is the Earth Kingdom capitol, right? Surely, he must have even a little spare time.."_

_The old man looked at her, pity in his eyes. He knew the life she had to go through, they were the same in a way, that time when the Avatar hadn't yet visited the palace and intruded his solitary comfort of always staying inside the walls of his beloved city. She didn't get to go out of the palace much, and when she did, she would often have two to three Dai Li officers with her, which made her upset since it scares the other kids away. Obviously, if she can't even go out of the palace on her own, then, she can't go out of the walls of the inner ring, since it was too dangerous, as her uncle would often say. Her father had no problems with it though, he'd gladly take her outside, but then her uncle, who was the Crown Prince at that time, the first born, suggested that it's better that she stayed inside so she wouldn't get "influenced" by outside forces. She wonders about what these outside forces her uncle feared, but all she could think about at that moment was that she had a great disliking for her uncle. And her only hope, the only one who had more authority than her uncle, was the old man sitting next to her right now. She should think of a way, think of a strategy to convince him, anything—_

_And she felt a warm hand on her head, an understanding smile on the old man's lips as he looked at her._

_He promised then and there, that after the paperworks, after the meetings, after the Northern and Southern Water Tribes sending him a confirmation letter about something (he didn't tell her about what it really is), then, he would take her outside of the palace, outside of the inner ring, outside of Ba Sing Se. And he promised too that she would get to see bender of different kinds, places like Omashu or the Northern Water Tribe palace, and if they are lucky, they might meet the Avatar's friends along the way. The way the brunette looked at him, the way she smiled, and the way her eyes twinkled with excitement and hope, it warmed his old little heart. And when everything was about to be finished, when the day that they would finally embark on a journey of a lifetime, the old King.._

_"No. It can't be. It's impossible."_

_She broke down in tears, kneeling on the floor as the healers placed a cloth over the old King's head. "He is dead..", she mumbled, her voice raspy as it was already choked with her own tears. "He is dead..", she repeated, and the memories of their last meeting ran around her little mind as he looked at the lifeless body in front of her._

_She clenched her knuckles, as she tried to remember his promise._

* * *

**_A/N: _**_So, I changed something in this fanfic. Aang shouldn't be dead since he died at the age of 66, but I kinda changed it to early thirties so it would suit the plans I have for this story. _


End file.
